


to some a dream, to others a stranger

by volleycatnika



Series: YOI superhero AU [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Dream - YOI superhero AU, Frost - YOI superhero AU, M/M, Superhero!AU, Viktor not Victor, Winter Dreams, YOI superhero AU prequel, Yuuri not Yuri, frost/dream, frost/dream - YOI superhero AU, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 06:55:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9808217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volleycatnika/pseuds/volleycatnika
Summary: Over the course of months… Over the course of years, Yuuri is able to hold a face for longer. And not just a face… He can make himself sound different. Yuuri would celebrate being able to hold a form for a long time, such as the one he has held for two years but he can’t. He can’t not when there is one form he can’t hold… The form that only he can see in the mirror. Dark hair, dark eyes. Short but not that short. Would he ever be able to show his family the true Yuuri ever again? Such a feat seems impossible.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spiritedwhere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiritedwhere/gifts).



> Tea (spiritedwhere) and I talk a lot. Those talks have resulted in this AU series. I hope you enjoy it. :)

It was subtle at first, the changes. Yuuri’s mother would say, “your eyes look a bit blue today” or “your hair looks lighter today.” But as her comments increased in frequency the changes became more noticeable. “Yuuri! You hair is green! When did you dye your hair? I think it suits you” or “when did you get so tall? You’re going to be taller than your father at this rate.”

At first, Yuuri just thought his mother was making such comments as a joke. “You’re quite short today! Perhaps you accidentally put your father’s clothes on…” But when more people began to make remarks on his appearance, Yuuri realized something was wrong. No normal person’s appearance would change so quickly or so drastically.

Whenever he got a chance, he would look at himself in a mirror. When looking he would see himself… He was and is Yuuri. Yuri who has dark hair and dark eyes. He was and is Yuuri who is short, but not _that_ short. If he could see it, why couldn’t other see it as well? Over time, Yuuri grew to have many questions and so did his family. Just what on Earth could be making him change like this? Yuuri’s parents wanted to take him to a doctor but they were afraid… What if Yuuri had something rare and they wanted to take him away? What if it was something that no one has ever seen? Would they experiment on Yuuri? The Katsuki’s would rather not find out. Or at least, they would rather not find out the hard way.

Yuuri’s changes were hard to hide from others. Due to this, Yuuri had no choice other than to be homeschooled. However, it wasn’t too bad. His mother’s friend, Minako became his teacher. It wasn’t until a few weeks in that Yuuri discovered that he could learn a lot more than core subjects from my teacher.

“I have superpowers too, you know,” Minako whispers to him one Tuesday morning, while Yuuri is practicing writing his Kanji. Yuuri is so surprised to hear such words come out of Minako’s mouth that he drops his pencil and stares at her with wide eyes. “I have super strength. It’s a power that is easier to hide than yours. I have a feeling it is a lot easier to control too. However, this doesn’t mean there’s no hope for you. As long as you try, there’s only hope.” Minako tucks a flyway strand of brown hair behind her ear before flashing Yuuri a reassuring smile.

“Y-You,” Yuuri stammers, still in disbelief, “have s-superpowers and are g-going to help me?”

“Yep.”

\----------------------------

Minkao places a vast array of pictures out on Yuuri’s desk. Each person looks different… Whether it is due to age, hair color, eye color, or gender. Each picture is only a headshot because Minako told him that is “best to take baby steps.”  
Minako motions with one pale finger to a picture. The picture she motions to is that of a boy that isn’t much older than Yuuri. At the most, he is in his first year of middle school. “Why don’t you try to make yourself look like him? He doesn’t look that much different than you. It shouldn’t be that hard.”

Yuuri stares at the picture a good five minutes before closing his eyes… Before imagining the boy's face becoming his own. He only opens his eyes when he hears Minako emit a soft gasp.

“That’s so cool, Yuuri! Now, before we have you switch to another face, let’s see how long you can hold this one.”

Yuuri is only able to hold the face for an hour.

However, that changes with practice. Over the course of months… Over the course of years, Yuuri is able to hold a face for longer. And not just a face… He can make himself sound different. Yuuri would celebrate being able to hold a form for a long time, such as the one he has held for two years but he can’t. He can’t not when there is one form he can’t hold… The form that only he can see in the mirror. _Dark hair, dark eyes. Short but not **that** short._ Would he ever be able to show his family the true Yuuri ever again? Such a feat seems impossible.

Such a feat seems impossible until Yuuri gets a chance to go to college in America… Until he gets a chance to ice skate in America. “Don’t you worry, your new coach is a friend of mine. He has superpowers too! He’s an old guy and knows a lot more about superpowers than me. You’ll learn a lot and have fun. You’ll be able to be yourself in no time.”

\----------------

Yuuri’s beloved ice skating coach and superpower mentor is a patient and kind man. However, he frequently gets colds. Due to this, him and Yuuri rarely get chances to talk to each other off the ice. Even then, they mostly talk about ice skating. Yuuri’s okay with it though. They have time. Or so he thought. His coach dies within three months, leaving him coachless for a month. After that month he gets a far younger and far more normal coach. A coach that not only lacks super powers, but believes that they only exist in comic books.

Yuuri tires to stay open minded. He tries not to judge his new coach but he can’t. His new coach is nothing like his old coach. He’s impatient and sharp tongued. He’s all criticism and no compliment. Although Yuuri’s interest in skating doesn’t fade, his interest in professional skating does. Yuuri sends the upperclassman who formed the club that he is switching to a different one and never goes to another club meeting.

Now he skates when he knows the rink is empty. He skates early in the morning or late at night, not really caring that he has to walk to or from his dorm in pitch black darkness. If he were to become frightened for his safety he’d just make himself look like a tall buff man and he’d be fine. Or he could make himself look like a police officer.. However Yuuri isn’t too comfortable with the idea of impersonating a police officer.

However, Yuuri finds himself liking the idea when he witnesses three men attempting to rob his favorite bakery. Sure the most logical thing would be to call the police but Yuuri finds himself moving toward them… Moving to apprehend them. When he gets closer he notices that they each have a weapon - one a bat, one a knife and one a taser. Yuuri grows nervous. Nervous, but determined. None of them have a gun, so it should be easy. Then again, he doesn’t have a gun. Or any weapon. Perhaps he doesn’t need to have one… After all, they just need to think he has one.

“Put your weapons down and step away from the cashier,” Yuuri orders, earning himself wide eyed looks from the three men. The three men, thankfully turn out to be teenages. Tennagers should be easier to trick than grown men. “Put your weapons down. I won’t say it again.” To Yuuri’s relief, he can hear the sound of sirens rapidly approaching them. He doesn’t necessarily have to get them to drop their weapons. He just needs to by time. “Put the money back. If you do as I say, there won’t be a problem.” The teens exchange glances that Yuuri finds unreadable. “Where did you get a taser? Whose knife is that? Don’t you know baseball bats are meant for baseball?” Yep, Yuuri has resorted to merely stalling.

Stalling works. Stalling gives real officers time to enter the cafe and back him up. To avoid questions of who he is and what he is doing, Yuuri slips into the crowd and makes himself look like a young woman. A young woman, who has a hand clasped over her mouth. _Just how could such a horrible thing happen in **my** neighborhood?_ Unknown to Yuuri, one person notices his shift.

\------------------------

After that incident, Yuuri changes a lot. He joins the martial arts club and does more research on superpowers. Could there be anyone out there, like him? It turns out there is… There are multiple chat rooms with people claiming to have superpowers. Not everyone who claims to have superpowers truly has powers. However, there are some that are. There are some that have videotaped themselves using their powers (they wore a masks to hide their identity of course).

Further proof of people with superpowers would come just mere weeks later when a hero named Frost freezes two kidnappers to the doors of a Detroit police station. Frost doesn’t freeze the kidnappers to just any Detroit police station. He freezes them to the police station close to the college Yuuri is attending. Could it mean something? Or is it just a coincidence? Yuuri both does and doesn’t want to find out. However as Frost and other heroes appear in newspapers time and time again, Yuuri decides something. He wants to find out. He wants to be a hero too. He wants to meet Frost. Thanks to the martial arts club, his superpowers and his Fashion Design major friend, Pitchit, such a dream may become a reality.

“Frost’s outfit looks kind of like a skating costume, doesn’t it?” Pitchit comments, before handing the newspaper he had been reading back to Yuuri. “He looks like a winter prince in that outfit. I can see why you like him so much. Do you want me to make you an outfit similar to his? Or…” As his voice trails off, a large smile forms on his face. “Can I make you something like this? It’s similar to Frost’s because it looks like a skating costume but that’s it. This design is a mixture of feminine and masculine. Glam and simplicity. What do you say Yuuri?”

“Make it, please.”

“You’ve got it.”

\-------------------

Although Yuuri doesn’t really need a mask because he can change his appearance, he wears one anyway. It gives him a feeling of comfort and belonging. After all, some of the most famous and talented heroes wear masks. Strolling down a back alley, Yuuri decides to let trouble come to him. Yuuri hopes that trouble he runs into is a lot like the teenage thieves he dealt with. Although he wants to be a hero, he’d rather not start with the tough guys first. After all, he is only one person. Also, he may know martial arts, but martial arts doesn’t help when you’re greatly outnumbered.

To his luck, a petty thief comes running in his direction. In the thief’s arms is a purse. As awful as it is, Yuuri is tempted to laugh. The whole purse snatching thing seems like something that should only happen in comic books.

It is only when the purse thief has no choice but to skid to a stop in front of him that Yuuri speaks. “Give the purse back to its owner.”

The thief laughs at him. “What are you going to do, make me? You look like you’re dressed up for a costume party. Why should I listen to you?” Yuuri isn’t surprised by the man’s response. His costume, which has parts that reflect light, do make him seem more like a kid dressed up from Halloween instead of a superhero.

“I will make you, if I must,” Yuuri replies, with a small sigh. “But I’d prefer not to.”

“I’d like to see you try,” the thief sneers. Within ten minutes Yuuri has the thief lying flat on his back in the alley and returns the purse to the owner. Thankfully, the owner has called the police so Yuuri won’t have to take him to the police station himself.

“He’s lying in the alley,” Yuuri informs the police, who, to his surprise, take him seriously. “He shouldn’t be too much trouble. I made him tired.” Both the police and the owner of the purse thank him. The rest of the night is uneventful.

\----------------------

“Wake up, you’re in the paper!” Phichit screeches in Yuuri’s face, startling him awake. “I know you just woke up and are groggy so I’ll read it for you.” Phichit clears his throat before continuing. “A new hero appears! Clad in an outfit that puts us all to shame, this new hero catches a thief that is guilty of stealing purses. Witnesses do not know what this hero’s powers are but have told us we should call them ‘Dream.’ We asked Melinda Strauss, whose purse was returned to her by the new hero for her thoughts. ‘I agree that we should call this new hero dream,’ Melinda replied, ‘Such a beautiful and brave person can only originate from dreams.’” Phichit clears this throat, yet again, before throwing the newspaper at Yuuri. “You’re famous! I bet you’ll meet Frost soon. Have you thought about a ship name? What about ‘Frosty Dreams’? Scratch that, it sounds too similar to _Frosted Flakes_. What about ‘Winter Dreams?’”

“Don’t ship me with real people, that’s weird,” Yuuri mutters before reading the article (all of it, Phichit left big parts out). “I like the name they came up with for me.”

“It’s great! Now I can call you dreamy,” Phichit chirps, earning himself a loud sigh from Yuuri.

“Please don’t.”

\----------------------------------------

As the weeks pass, with Yuuri failing to meet Frost, he can’t help but feel a bit disappointed. Frost is a hero who is praised for having a high level of control over his power and never overstepping boundaries. If the police prefer that he let them pursue a criminal instead of him, he obeys. Well, most of the time. There have been exceptions. Although not many - Yuuri can count the number of exceptions that Frost has made on one hand.

Despite the heavy lack of Frost interaction or any fellow superhero interaction, Yuuri doesn’t give up hope. Surely, he’ll run into one of the many heroes mentioned in the paper eventually… Shaking his head to clear his mind, Yuuri focuses on the scene below him. Below him are four men, who appear to be discussing a drug deal. Or a weapon’s deal. Yuuri has no idea what is in the big white truck they are all standing around. Although his instincts inform him that he would rather not find out, his heart disagrees. Whatever is in the truck is dangerous as long as it is in the hands of criminals.

Walking as quietly as the can down the firescape of the building he had been sitting on, Yuuri can’t help but sigh. Fighting crime would be a lot easier if he could get around faster. He wishes he could build ice slides like Frost, or teleport like Shadow. Yuuri resolves, at the very least, to get himself a motorcycle in the the future.  
Trying his best to slink along in the shadows, Yuuri takes out one of the guys by throwing one of Phichit’s light nets on him. The tech used to create the net is very advanced and probably expensive. Yuuri had questioned just how Phichit got it, but he refused to answer.

When it comes to the second guy, Yuuri buys himself some extra time by making himself look just him. The change in appearance and especially one makes the guy fell like he is looking in a mirror confuses him… The confusion gives Yuuri the time needed to properly aim a blow to the man’s temple, knocking him out.

The last two men, sadly, aren't’ as easily fooled. In fact, one of them get a shot in, which thankfully gets stuck in the thick material of Yuuri’s superhero suit. Yuuri will have to thank Pichit for incorporating a bulletproof vest into his suit later. The second man fires a shot as well, but misses. Luckily, the first man’s grip on his gun is loose and Yuuri is able to kick it out of his hand. After kicking the gun out of his hand, Yuuri closes the distance between them. Although hating to do so, Yuuri strikes the man’s forehead, giving the man a concussion. Yuuri would prefer not to give anyone concussion, but since the man’s friend is still armed, he has to hurry in order to avoid being shot (again).

Before either he or the armed man can react, the door to the truck opens with a clatter, revealing what is within. In this case, it is more of a matter of who than what, with two figures quickly jumping out of the truck. Before Yuuri can react, the armed man runs away, leaving him alone with two new people. Letting his gaze, which had been focused on the fleeing man return to the truck, Yuuri is surprised by what he sees. One of the people who stands before him is a woman clad in all black, save for her mask, which is white. Next to her is a man clad in all white, save for a black mask. Together they look like one large and living Yin and Yang symbol. “I’m Yin,” the woman in black says, before motioning to the man next to her “and this is Yang. We won’t hurt you if you promise to stop being a hero.”

“Why would I promise that?” Yuuri asks, genuinely confused. “Heroes help people.”

“Heroes do more harm than good,” Yin hisses, “You’re not the first hero who has foolishly believed that they have been helping humanity. Your meddling is corrupting time.”

“You’re not the last hero that will exist, either,” Yang adds. His English, despite his Western appearance, sounds different than American English. Rather, he seems to have an accent. Maybe he’s Canadian? Now that Yuuri thinks about it, Yin has a similar accent to Yang. “You won’t be the last to think they are helping humanity. Your meddling is creating changes that have far greater consequences than a woman losing her purse.” A purse. Yang knows Yuuri well enough to know what crime was the first Yuuri covered. Such a fact sends a shiver down Yuuri’s spine.

“I h-have no reason to b-belive you,” Yuuri stammers, all the while mentally cursing at himself for stuttering. “T-Therefore I have no reason to make you promises.”

“Very well then,” Yin replies in a cold voice, “prepare to die.” Yin and Yang simultaneously unsheath swords. They even run at him at the simultaneously. Phichit has given Yuuri many things, but hasn’t given him anything to help with this sort of situation. Should he run? Should he stay and fight? Or… Yuuri loses his train of thought as ice forms around the feet of Yin and Yang, freezing them mid-run.

“Two against one, that’s hardly fair,” A voice chirps from above Yuuri. Yuuri looks up just in time to see Frost sliding down towards the ground on one of his ice slides. “And fighting someone who is unarmed at that! You should be ashamed of yourselves.” Yuuri had not expected Frost to have a Russian accent. With Frost only ever appearing in pictures in his icy blue form, Yuuri had no idea where Frost was from. Now he knows. He knows and finds Frost’s Russian accent strangely comforting. “If you surrender your swords, we can forget this ever happened.”

“I’ll never surrender,” Yin and Yang shout in unison.

“You villians always make things difficult,” Frost whines. “But fine, have it your way. I’ll unfreeze you so we can fight fair but first…” Frost lets his voice trail off as he makes an ice sword. “Let me arm my dear friend…” Just as Frost turns to give Yuuri the sword, he freezes. He gazes at Yuuri with wide eyes and a slack jaw. “You’re hair and eyes… They’re really blue. Did you change on purpose, so we’d match?”

“No,” Yuuri replies with a nervous laugh, “I didn’t even realize I changed my appearance again.”

“Oh,” Frost responds, and for a second, he sounds disappointed. “Anyway, here you are! One ice sword.” Yuuri has only just accepted the sword when Frost unfreezes Yin and Yang. Yang immediately dashes towards Frost, and Yin heads for Yuuri. Yuuri, at this moment, can’t help but wish that he had run when he had the chance. The sword is great in all, but he has no idea how to use it.

To his relief, he doesn’t really need to know how to use it. Just pointing it at Yin makes it emit ice, and freeze whatever the ice comes into contact with. Yuuri aims for her hands, so she can’t use the sword. Then he aims for her feet, so she can’t keep running at him or attempting to fight him. Aiming the sword is easier said than done. The sword is heavier than it looks and Yuuri finds himself having to use both arms to lift it. Due to this, when he freeze’s Yin’s feet she is just inches away from him. For a second Yuuri swears he hears Frost exclaim, “damn I wish that sword was me” but automatically comes to the conclusion that he’s hearing things. After all, there’s no way Frost would ever attempt to flirt with him.

“Dream, I could use a little help!” Frost squeaks, just as Yang nearly chops his head off. Yuuri starts to move towards him, but pauses when he notices something. Frost doesn’t really seem to need help. He has been able to dodge each of Yang’s blows. “Help me, I’m a damsel in distress!” Frost even goes as for to place his right hand on his forehead. “Just what will I do if Dream doesn’t save me?”

Yuuri aims the ice sword and freezes Yang within a matter of minutes. “You do realize this makes a better gun than a sword, don’t you?” Yuuri asks Frost, who just stares at him. “Also, I could tell you didn’t really need my help. Lastly, were you flirting with me?”

“It depends, was it working?” Frost replies with a goofy grin.

Yuuri would never admit it to Frost, but it is. “No comment,” Yuuri huffs, before giving Frost his sword back. “Anyway, since you are more than capable of contacting the police, I’ll leave you to it. See you around, Frost.”

Yuuri has to tell himself that he’s not disappointed when Frost doesn’t try to get him to stay.

**Author's Note:**

> Moves used by Yuuri were based off this: http://www.wikihow.com/Learn-Martial-Arts-%22Pressure-Points%22 
> 
> More of this AU is to come, in a series of one-shots written by me and spiritedwhere, so stay tuned!
> 
> yell at me on twitter: akianra  
> shout at me on tumblr: volleycat nika


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